Chick-fil-A Protesters Harass Elderly Preacher

An elderly Chicago street preacher was harassed by protesters outside a Chick-fil-A restaurant as police in at least two cities investigate acts of vandalism allegedly by vandals upset over the company’s support for traditional marriage.

Artist Manny Castro, who said he is a homosexual, confessed to The Huffington Post that he was responsible for vandalizing a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Torrance, Calif.

“I’m against what these people stand for, what this company stands for,” he told The Huffington Post. “They’re trying to take away what little rights we already have.”

Photo taken by Ringo of ringospictures.com

Castro spray painted “Tastes Like Hate” on the side of the restaurant. He called his criminal activity “art” and denied he broke the law.

“It’s paint on a wall,” he said. It got removed in less than an hour. It’s not that much of a crime — it’s a protest.”

“I thought of the photographs from 40 years ago of Christians protesting blacks marrying whites,” said Castro. “It is the same thing.”

Police told the LA Daily News they are investigating the incident.

A second incident occurred in Missouri. Someone spray painted “don’t hate” on brick walls and “tastes like hate,” at a Chick-fil-A in Des Peres, television station KMOV reported.

In Chicago a group of protesters surrounded an elderly street preacher outside the city’s lone Chick-fil-A restaurant. Video of the incident was posted on the website legalinsurrection.com.

The protesters ridiculed and mocked the man — using chalk to write insulting messages on the sidewalk. One of the messages read, “He’s really gay deep down.”

“I do hate God,” one protester screamed at the elderly man as someone waved a rainbow flag. “Then your Bible is in itself immoral. I am tired of your hypocrisy, sir.”

In other acts of violence, a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Martinsburg, West Va. was evacuated after someone called in a bomb threat. The threat was later deemed a hoax. In Greenville, South Carolina, a man was arrested after he blocked the drive-thru of a Chick-fil-A with his vehicle.